Student: Ohio school shooter targeted victims

Doug Gasper, a ninth grader at Chardon High School, is hugged by his mother, Sandy, as they leave Maple Elementary School Monday, Feb. 27, 2012, in Chardon, Ohio. Students assembled at Maple Elementary School after a shooting took place at the high school. A gunman opened fire inside the high school's cafeteria at the start of the school day, wounding four students, officials said. A suspect is in custody. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)
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Doug Gasper, a ninth grader at Chardon High School, is hugged by his mother, Sandy, as they leave Maple Elementary School Monday, Feb. 27, 2012, in Chardon, Ohio. Students assembled at Maple Elementary School after a shooting took place at the high school. A gunman opened fire inside the high school's cafeteria at the start of the school day, wounding four students, officials said. A suspect is in custody. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)
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Parents take their children from Chgardon Middle School in Chardon, Ohio Monday, Feb. 27, 2012. Students were released after a gunman opened fire inside the nearby high school's cafeteria at the start of the school day Monday, wounding four students, officials said. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)— AP

Parents take their children from Chgardon Middle School in Chardon, Ohio Monday, Feb. 27, 2012. Students were released after a gunman opened fire inside the nearby high school's cafeteria at the start of the school day Monday, wounding four students, officials said. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)
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Students leave with parents from Maple Elementary School after a shooting at Chardon High School Monday, Feb. 27, 2012, in Chardon, Ohio. Students assembled at Maple Elementary School after a shooting took place at the high school. A gunman opened fire inside the high school's cafeteria at the start of the school day, wounding four students, officials said. A suspect is in custody. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)— AP

Students leave with parents from Maple Elementary School after a shooting at Chardon High School Monday, Feb. 27, 2012, in Chardon, Ohio. Students assembled at Maple Elementary School after a shooting took place at the high school. A gunman opened fire inside the high school's cafeteria at the start of the school day, wounding four students, officials said. A suspect is in custody. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)
/ AP

Parents walk past Chardon Middle School with students in Chardon, Ohio Monday, Feb. 27, 2012. The school released students to their parents after a gunman opened fire inside the nearby high school's cafeteria at the start of the school day Monday, wounding four students, officials said. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)— AP

Parents walk past Chardon Middle School with students in Chardon, Ohio Monday, Feb. 27, 2012. The school released students to their parents after a gunman opened fire inside the nearby high school's cafeteria at the start of the school day Monday, wounding four students, officials said. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)
/ AP

CHARDON, Ohio 
A student who witnessed a deadly Ohio school shooting says it appeared the gunman was targeting a group of students sitting at a cafeteria table.

Freshman Danny Komertz says he was just about to leave for his first-period health class Monday when he heard a loud popping sound and then saw the gunman open fire.

He says one student who authorities say was killed was trying to get under a table to protect himself and shield his face.

Komertz says the shooter was known as an outcast who had apparently been bullied.

The 15-year-old Komertz says that there were at least 100 students in the cafeteria at the time and that most fled immediately as shots were fired.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

A gunman opened fire inside a high school cafeteria at the start of the school day Monday, killing one student and wounding four others, authorities said. A suspect - believed to be a student - was arrested a short distance away.

The suspect was taken into custody near his car a half-mile from the suburban Cleveland school, the FBI said.

FBI agent Scott Wilson would not comment on a possible motive for the attack.

Panicked students screamed and ran through the halls when gunfire broke out around 7:30 a.m. at 1,100-student Chardon High School.

Heather Ziska, 17, said she was in the cafeteria when she and other students heard popping noises in the hall. She said she saw a boy she recognized as a fellow student come into the cafeteria and start shooting.

She said she and several others immediately ran outside, while other friends ran into a middle school and others locked themselves in a teachers' lounge.

"Everybody just started running," said 17-year-old Megan Hennessy, who was in class when she heard loud noises. "Everyone was running and screaming down the hallway."

Five students were taken to Cleveland-area hospitals, officials said. One student later died, Police Chief Timothy McKenna said. The suspect is a juvenile who was not immediately charged. His name was not released.

The condition of the wounded students was not disclosed.

Students at the high school and the middle school had already started their day when the shooting happened, but bus runs for elementary school children were stopped. All classes in the district were canceled.

Parents of high school students were told to go to an elementary school to pick up their children. Anxious parents could be seen escorting children away.

Chardon, a town of about 5,100 people, is about 30 miles east of Cleveland.

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AP writers Dan Sewell in Cincinnati and Andrew Welsh-Huggins in Columbus contributed to this report.